Today we’d like to introduce you to Tukela Jackson.
Hi Tukela, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a kid, I’ve always said I wanted to be a hairstylist. After high school I went for it, I pursued that dream. I became a licensed master cosmetologist in 2003. I started on myself, then friends once I was comfortable. After that, I started building a clientele. Working at my first salon, I became very intrigued by the barbers and their creations. I watched and asked plenty of questions. I got the opportunity to work at a chain salon, it definitely wasn’t financially rewarding. I viewed this opportunity as paid training. They offered classes and workshops to all employees that helped improve and sharpen my skills within the cosmetology field. I was able to tap into another talent and water a seed that was already planted inside me. I perfected my craft through time and experience. That was the intro I needed to build my confidence in the hair industry. I am always critiquing myself and finding ways to perfect my craft. The industrusty is always evolving and you have to as well.
While I am a master cosmetologist but a self-taught barber that works at Vista Barbershop. When I landed there, I was terrified because I was afraid that I couldn’t do a haircut that was a requirement to be at the salon, which is now one of my most requested haircuts: a bald fade. When I think about when I started at the chain salon my challenge was straight hair; that is also another thing that I conquered. My approach to my clients isn’t to just cut hair and make the money, it is to listen and give the knowledge and my skills of being able to correct a problem that nobody has had the privilege of solving. I’m a creative thinker that thinks outside the box. I tend to let my work speak for itself because the majority of my clients are referrals or someone that experienced me once and continued to come back because they can’t get the same service elsewhere. I am humbled and appreciative because I absolutely love what I do, and I show it in the craftsmanship of the work I provide to the clients of Vista Barbershop. Each haircut is like a blank canvas, I am carefully carving each strand of hair into an art piece. It’s a work of art for me. Each haircut I’ve done becomes my masterpiece.
Being a creative person, the pandemic stirred up a lot of mixed emotions for everyone including myself. The way I make a living, I have to actually provide the service in order to get paid. The stay order created a mental panic for me because it interrupted my comfort zone and halted my means of providing for my family. During this time, I did a lot of soul searching and research that resulted in the birth of my business: K. Lavished, LLC.; K. Lavished is a small business that creates handcrafted skincare products with love, out of natural ingredients. I make soap, whipped body butters, and sugar scrubs right now. All my products are geared towards improving skin care naturally. I not only cater to women but I cater to men and kids as well. Proper self-care starts with our skin. To Incorporate the knowledge that I have retained from being in the hair industry and working with majority men, now resulted in the birth of my men’s line which is called K. L. MR’s. K. L. Mr’s is geared towards helping men with skincare and beard treatments. Men have jumped on this wave as being aware of their needs and have adapted to self-care as well.
All of my skincare is fragranced but not overpowering at all, it can be mixed with your favored body colognes or perfume. The creation of K. Lavished, LLC is another example of my creative side. Please stop by our website and indulge in our amazing product line. Check us out at www.klavished.com.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely hasn’t been a smooth road for me, I’m a mother and now a MiMi ( because I’m too young for the “Grandmother title”) My kids are my heartbeats, so everything I do is to give them an example of the possibilities I wanted them to see that anything is achievable when you apply yourself and think outside the box. In life, there is no right or wrong when it comes to being successful. It is perception, you have to create it, and make it a reality even through adversity.
I’ve had to endure some obstacles and life changes starting from 2015 until now. I’ve endured car accidents, job changes, health-related issues, the loss of people and relationship changes good and bad; however, everything I’ve experienced, was all there to shake things up for me. It put me on a path of being a better version of myself. I feel my obstacles were there to keep me from getting complacent because had they not happened, I would be where I am today. I’m forever grateful and humbled by it all. Everything happens for a reason and a season to prepare you for something much greater.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a master cosmetologist that operates as a barber. I specialize in haircutting. My confidence and ability to adapt is what sets me apart from the rest. My proudest moments are being able to change a bad experience into a great one, one that the client can be proud to show off. My greatest asset is being able to see the finished product so therefore I have the ability to change the perception of the results through my confidence and verbiage because I know it’s achievable. If I believe in it, then I am able to give you a better experience or explanation on why it will work.
It also comes out in the craft of K. Lavished products.
Everything I do has an artistic and creative style to it. That is me and who I am.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I am my biggest critic, but I don’t think that’s a surprise.
Pricing:
- My products start at less than $10
Contact Info:
- Website: klavished.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.lavished/ and https://www.instagram.com/2kela_kutz
